Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Yopatricia’

ABSTRACT

A distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Yopatricia’, characterized by its uniformly mounded and relatively compact plant habit; relatively early flowering; decorative-type inflorescences that are about 3.8 cm in diameter; attractive lavender ray florets; and numerous inflorescences per plant.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofChrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora andreferred to by the cultivar name Yopatricia.

The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted bythe Inventor in Salinas, Calif. The objective of the breeding program isto create new garden-type Chrysanthemum cultivars having inflorescenceswith desirable inflorescence forms and floret colors and good gardenperformance.

The new cultivar originated from a cross made by the Inventor inNovember, 1993, of the Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Lynn (U.S.Plant Pat. No. 8,171) as the female, or seed, parent with anunidentified proprietary seedling selection as the male, or pollen,parent.

The cultivar Yopatricia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as aflowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlledenvironment in Salinas, Calif., in November, 1995. The selection of thisplant was based on its desirable inflorescence form and ray floretcolor.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in acontrolled environment in Salinas, Calif., has shown that the uniquefeatures of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true totype in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cultivar Yopatricia has not been observed under all possibleenvironmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat withvariations in environment such as temperature, daylength and lightintensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined tobe the unique characteristics of ‘Yopatricia’ as a new and distinctcultivar:

1. Uniformly mounded and relatively compact plant habit.

2. Relatively early flowering.

3. Decorative-type inflorescences that are about 3.8 cm in diameter.

4. Attractive lavender ray florets.

5. Numerous inflorescences per plant.

The new Chrysanthemum is similar to the Dendranthema grandifloracultivar Barbara, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,607. However inside-by-side comparisons under commercial practice, plants of the newChrysanthemum differed from plants of the cultivar Barbara in thefollowing characteristics:

1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are broader than plants of thecultivar Barbara.

2. Ray florets of plants of the new Chrysanthemum are brighter lavenderin color than ray florets of plants of the cultivar Barbara.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying photographs illustrate the overall appearance of thenew cultivar.

The photograph at the top of the sheet comprises a side perspective viewof a typical flowering plant of ‘Yopatricia’.

The photograph at the bottom of the sheet comprises a close-up view oftypical inflorescences of the cultivar ‘Yopatricia’. These photographsshow the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain incolored reproductions of this type. Floret and foliage colors in thephotographs may differ from the actual colors due to light reflectance.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

In the following description, color references are made to The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart except where general terms ofordinary dictionary significance are used. The following observationsand measurements describe plants grown in Leamington, Ontario, Canada,under conditions which approximate those generally used in commercialgarden Chrysanthemum production. One rooted cutting was planted in a15-cm container on Jul. 20, 1998 and plants were grown outdoors undernatural season conditions. Measurements and numerical values representaverages for typical flowering containers.

Botanical classification: Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Yopatricia.

Commercial classification: Decorative-type garden chrysanthemum.

Parentage:

Female or seed parent.—Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Lynn, disclosedin U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,171.

Male or pollen parent.—Unidentified proprietary seedling selection.

Propagation:

Type.—Terminal tip cuttings.

Time to rooting.—Seven to ten days with soil temperatures of 21° C.

Rooting habit.—Fine, fibrous and well-branched.

Plant description:

Appearance.—Perennial herbaceous decorative-type garden Chrysanthemum.Inverted triangle. Stems initially upright, then outwardly spreadinggiving a uniformly mounded appearance to the plant. Freely branchingwith lateral branches potentially developing at every node, when pinchedabout 10 laterals develop.

Plant height.—About 25 cm.

Plant spread.—About 39 cm.

Foliage description.—Leaf arrangement: Alternate. Length: About 3.4 cm.Width: About 3.2 cm. Apex: Mucronate. Base: Attenuate to truncate.Margin: Palmately lobed, sinuses parallel to divergent. Texture: Uppersurface sparsely to moderately pubescent; lower surface moderatelypubescent. Veins prominent on lower surface. Petiole length: About 1.5cm. Petiole diameter: About 3 mm. Color: Young foliage upper surface:147A. Young foliage lower surface: 147B. Mature foliage upper surface:147A. Mature foliage lower surface: 147B. Venation upper surface: 147A.Venation lower surface: 147B.

Inflorescence description:

Appearance.—Decorative-type inflorescence form with oblong-shaped rayflorets. Inflorescences borne on terminals above foliage, arising fromleaf axils. Disk and ray florets arranged acropetally on a capitulum.One inflorescence per terminal with numerous inflorescences per plant,about 9 per lateral stem.

Flowering response.—Under natural season conditions, plants flower inmid-September in the Northern Hemisphere, about 67 days after planting,and flower for at least three weeks depending on weather conditions.

Inflorescence bud (before showing color).—Height: About 5 mm. Diameter:About 8 mm. Phyllary color: Close to 141A.

Inflorescence size.—Diameter: About 3.8 cm. Depth (height): About 1.2cm.

Ray florets.—Shape: Oblong, flat. Length: About 1.7 cm. Width: About 6mm. Apex: Dentate. Margin: Entire. Texture: Smooth, glabrous, satiny.Orientation: Initially upright, then horizontal. Number of ray floretsper inflorescence: Typically more than 100. Color: When opening, upperand lower surfaces: 77A; white at base. Opened inflorescence: Uppersurface: 77A to 77C; white at base. Lower surface: 77B to 77D; white atbase.

Disc florets.—None observed.

Peduncle.—Aspect: Flexible, angled about 45° to the stem. Length: Firstpeduncle: About 4.8 cm. Fourth peduncle: About 6.5 cm. Diameter: About1.75 mm. Texture: Pubescent. Color: Close to 141A.

Reproductive organs.—Androecium: None. Gynoecium: Present on rayflorets.

Disease resistance: Resistance to know Chrysanthemum diseases has notbeen observed on plants grown under commercial production conditions.

Seed production: Seed production has not been observed.

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plantnamed ‘Yopatricia’, as illustrated and described.